1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to recycling apparatus and, more particularly, pertains to recycling apparatuses of the type adapted to accept the return of select types of used containers of the plastic or metal non-reusable class, and to issue a premium in payment of the container return.
As a consequence of the passage and enactment of legislative bills and ordinances in various states requiring the return or recycling of used beverage containers, and prescribing the sale of non-returnable containers predicated on ecological grounds, the handling of returned containers, such as bottles and cans has become a major problem in many geographical areas. Thus, some states have mandated the return of all used beverage containers, and the handling and logistics thereof have become or are becoming major problems for the suppliers of these products and also for many retail establishments. It is not at all impossible to contemplate for a wholesale delivery driver of these products to have to possibly spend several hours per day sorting used containers at various retail outlets. Further, many retail outlets must necessarily devote an inordinately disproportionate portion of the area of their available floor space to the accumulation and storage of returned containers. As a result, it would be desirable to have readily available a recycling machine or installation for returned containers which is adapted to accept the return of select types of containers such as, for instance, beverage cans or bottles, and which will refund to the returnor a premium in the form of either a monetary deposit refund or a chit redeemable at retail stores with the future purchase of select products.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Heretofore, various kinds of arrangements have been disclosed or proposed in the prior art relating to aids in facilitating the handling of returnable, recyclable, containers, particularly beverage containers of different types.
For instance, Arp U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,334 discloses a recycling machine which accepts and crushes or compacts containers possessed of predetermined physical characteristics. Containers, such as metal cans, are processed by the machine adapted to dispense a token as a premium for each container deposited therein and having particularized physical characteristics such as a predetermined size, shape, weight and so forth. Upon the acceptance of a suitable container by the machine, the latter issues to the returnor a premium in the nature of a stamp which may be redeemed at a retail outlet. A recycling machine of this nature does not have the selectivity or versatility required for the types of applications for which the present invention was developed.
Tanaka U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,087 discloses a machine which is designed to accept cans of various sizes, crush or compact each can for storage, and issue a coin refund for the return of each can. Nevertheless, a machine of this nature is not selective enough for use in the processing of returned containers in various areas of commerce, such as in the retail soft drink market.
Other arrangements disclosed in the prior art incorporate optical scanning equipment for ascertaining with a greater degree of precision or discerning the type of product or container being processed, however, these arrangements have found no application in recycling equipment analogous to that contemplated and developed by the present invention.
For instance, Herrin U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,963; Yoneyama U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,999; Rabedeau U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,816; Chadima, Jr. et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,299; and Hobart U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,166 all disclose different types of systems for scanning various kinds of markings, typically in the form of universal product code (UPC) symbols imprinted on a product which will provide information with great particularity and accuracy as to the type, nature and manufacturer or origins thereof. However, none of these patents discloses the use of scanning equipment of this nature in a recycling arrangement wherein used containers of selected types, such as beverage cans or bottles, are accepted (or rejected) by a recycling machine in response to the scanned UPC symbol information on the container.